Worlds of History, Volume I: To 1550 A Comparative Reader

by Reilly, Kevin

• ISBN13: 9780312549879
• ISBN10: 0312549873
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-03
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Compiled by a widely respected world historian and community college teacher, Worlds of History fosters historical thinking through thematic comparisons of primary and secondary sources from around the world. Each chapter takes up a major theme — such as patriarchy, love and marriage, or globalization — as experienced by two or more cultures. "Thinking Historically" exercises build students’ capacity to analyze and interpret sources one skill at a time. This flexible framework accommodates a variety of approaches to teaching world history. The latest edition offers a broader range of sources with an even more global perspective.

"Students find the comparative approach to history dynamic, mind-opening, and fun. Reilly’s selection of documents exposes students to some of the major scholarship in the field of world history and challenges them to analyze direct evidence from the past to make historical conclusions of their own."- Eric Martin, Lewis-Clark State College

Author Biography

Kevin Reilly is a professor of humanities at Raritan Valley College and has taught at Rutgers, Columbia, and Princeton Universities. Co-founder and first president of the World History Association, Reilly wrote The West and the World and has edited a number of works in world history including Readings in World Civilization and the World History syllabus collection. As a specialist in immigration history, Reilly was tapped to create the "Modern Global Migrations" globe at Ellis Island's Museum of the History of Immigration. His work on the history of racism led to the editing of Racism: A Global Reader. He was a Fulbright scholar in Brazil (1989) and Jordan (1994). In 1992, the Community College Humanities Association named him "Distinguished Educator of the Year."

Table of Contents

Preface  
Introduction 

 

1. Prehistory and the Origins of Patriarchy: Gathering, Agricultural,

      and Urban Societies, 20,000-1000 B.C.E.  
Historical Context 
Thinking Historically: Thinking about History in Stages 
1. Natalie Angier, Furs for Evening, But Cloth Was the

      Stone Age Standby 
2. Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of

      a !Kung Woman 
*3. Margaret Ehrenberg, Women in Prehistory 
*4. Ramon A. Gutierrez, When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers

        Went Away 
*5. Catherine Clay, Chandrika Paul, and Christine Senecal,

        Women in the First Urban Communities (after 3500 B.C.E.)  
*6. An Assyrian Law and a Palace Decree 
Reflections 

 

NOTE: Historical Context and Reflections sections appear in every chapter but have been omitted below for brevity.

 

2. The Urban Revolution and “Civilization”: Mesopotamia,

      Egypt, and Mexico, 3500-1000 B.C.E.   
Thinking Historically: Distinguishing Primary and Secondary Sources  
1. Kevin Reilly, Cities and Civilization 
2. The Epic of Gilgamesh 
3. Hammurabi’s Code 
4.  Advice to the Young Egyptian: “Be a Scribe”  
*5.  Egyptian Book of the Dead 
6.  Images of Ancient Egypt 
     Entering the Afterlife
     The Hall of Ma’at
*7. John Noble Wilford, The Olmec: Mother Culture, or

        Only a Sister?   

 

3. Identity in Caste and Territorial Societies: Greece and

      India, 1000-300 B.C.E.  
Thinking Historically: Interpreting Primary Sources in Light of a

  Secondary Source 
1.  William H. McNeill, Greek and Indian Civilization 
2.  The Rig Veda: Sacrifice as Creation 
3.  The Upanishads: Karma and Reincarnation 
4.  The Upanishads: Brahman and Atman 
5.  The Bhagavad Gita: Caste and Self 
6.  Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution: Territorial Sovereignty 
7.  Thucydides, The Funeral Oration of Pericles 
8.   Plato, The Republic  

 

*4.  Emperors and Philosophers: China and Rome,

         300 B.C.E.–300 C.E.  
*Thinking Historically: Distinguishing Ideas from Actions and

     Understanding their Relationship 
*1. Valerie Hansen, The Creation of the Chinese Empire  
*2. Sima Qian, The First Emperor  
3. Confucius, The Analects 
*4. Han Fei, Legalism 
*5. Laozi, Taoism: The Classic of the Way and the Power 
*6. Rebecca Fleming, Rome: Knowledge and Empire 
*7. Cicero, On Government and Law 
*8. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 
 
*5. Gender, Sex, and Love in Classical Societies: India,

        China, and the Mediterranean, 500 B.C.E.–500 C.E.   
*Thinking Historically: Asking about Author, Audience, and Agenda  
1. Sarah Shaver Hughes and Brady Hughes, Women in the

      Classical Era  
2. Ban Zhao, Lessons for Women 
*3. Vatsyana, The Kama Sutra 
*4. Plato, The Symposium 
*5. Ovid, The Art of Love 
6.  Portraits 
     Portrait of a Fayum Woman with Large Gold Necklace
     Portrait of Fayum Woman with White Earrings
     Portrait of “Ammonius from Antinoe,” with Ankh 

 

6. From Tribal to Universal Religion: Hindu-Buddhist and

     Judeo-Christian Traditions, 600 B.C.E.–100 C.E.   
Thinking Historically: Detecting Change in Primary Sources 
1. Hinduism: Svetasvatara Upanishad 
2. Buddhism: Gotama’s Discovery 
3. Buddhism and Caste 
*4. Mahayana Buddhism: The Lotus Sutra 
5. Judaism and the Bible: History, Laws, and Psalms 
6. Judaism and the Bible: Prophecy and Apocalypse 
7. The Christian Bible: Jesus According to Matthew 
*8. Paul, Letters  

 

*7. The Spread of Universal Religions: Afro-Eurasia,

        100–1000 C.E.   
*Thinking Historically: Understanding Continuity and Change 
*1. Ofri Ilani, Conversion and the Expansion of Judaism 
2. Pliny Consults the Emperor Trajan 
3. Eusebius, Life of Constantine 
*4. Christianity in China: The Nestorian Monument 
5. Buddhism in China: The Disposition of Error  
6. Selections from the Koran  
*7. Alexander Stille, Scholars Are Quietly Offering New

        Theories of the Koran 
8. Peace Terms with Jerusalem  
*9. The Epic of Sundiata   

 

8. Medieval Civilizations: European, Islamic, Chinese, and

      Maya Societies, 250–1250 
Thinking Historically: Distinguishing Social, Economic, Political, and

  Cultural Aspects of Civilizations 
1. Feudalism: An Oath of Homage and Fealty 
2. The Magna Carta 
3. Islam: Sayings Ascribed to the Prophet  
*4. Muhammad’s Night Journey  
5. Al-Tanukhi, A Government Job  
6. Ichisada Miyazaki, The Chinese Civil Service Exam System 
7. Liu Tsung-Yuan, Camel Kuo the Gardener 
*8. Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, Chronicle of the Maya

        Kings and Queens  
 
9. Love, Sex, and Marriage: Medieval Europe and Asia,

      400–1350  
Thinking Historically: Analyzing Cultural Differences  
1. Kevin Reilly, Love in Medieval Europe, India, and Japan 
2. Ulrich von Liechtenstein, The Service of Ladies 
3. Andreas Capellanus, The Art of Courtly Love 
4. Kalidasa, Shakuntala  
5. Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji 
*6. Zhou Daguan, Sex in the City of Angkor 

 

10. The First Crusade: Muslims, Christians, and Jews during

        the First Crusade, 1095–1099  
Thinking Historically: Analyzing and Writing Narrative 
1. Fulcher of Chartres, Pope Urban at Clermont 
2. Chronicle of Solomon bar Simson 
3. Anna Comnena, The Alexiad  
4. Fulcher of Chartres, The Siege of Antioch 
5. Ibn Al-Qalanisi, The Damascus Chronicle  
6. Raymond of St. Giles, Count of Toulouse, The Capture of

     Jerusalem by the Crusaders 
7. Ibn al-Athir, The Conquest of Jerusalem  
8. Letter from a Jewish Pilgrim in Egypt   

 

11. Raiders of Steppe and Sea: Vikings and Mongols, Eurasia

        and the Atlantic, 900–1350  
Thinking Historically: Distinguishing Historical Understanding from

  Moral Judgments
1. Gregory Guzman, Were the Barbarians a Negative or Positive

      Factor in Ancient and Medieval History?  
2. Ibn Fadlan, The Viking Rus 
3. Barry Cunliffe, The Western Vikings 
4. Eirik’s Saga  
*5. Yvo of Narbona, The Mongols  
6. The Secret History of the Mongols 
7. John of Plano Carpini, History of the Mongols 

 

12. The Black Death: Afro-Eurasia, 1346–1350   
Thinking Historically: Considering Cause and Effect 
1. Mark Wheelis, Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa  
2. Gabriele de’ Mussis, Origins of the Black Death  
3.Giovanni Boccaccio, The Plague in Florence: From

     The Decameron  
4. Images of the Black Death 
    The Black Death, 1348
    Flagellants, from a Fifteenth-Century Chronicle from

      Constance, Switzerland
    The Burning of Jews in an Early Printed Woodcut
    Francois de la Sarra, Tomb at La Sarraz, Switzerland, c.1390
5. Ahmad al-Maqrizi, The Plague in Cairo  
*6. Michael W. Dols, The Comparative Communal Responses

        to the Black Death in Muslim and Christian Societies   

 

13. On Cities: European, Chinese, Islamic, and Mexican Cities,

        1000–1550   
Thinking Historically: Evaluating a Comparative Thesis 
1. Fernand Braudel, Towns and Cities 
2. Gregorio Dati, Corporations and Community in Florence  
3. Marco Polo, On the City of Hangchou  
4. S. D. Goitein, Cairo: An Islamic City in Light of the Geniza  
5. Bernal Diaz, Cities of Mexico  
*6. Images of Medieval Cities 
     City View of Florence, 1482
     Cairo, 1549
     Effects of Good Government
    A Chinese City in Along the River During the Qingming Festival

 

14. Ecology, Technology, and Science: Europe, Asia, and

        Oceania, 500–1550   
Thinking Historically: Evaluating Grand Theories 
1. Lynn White Jr., The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis 
2. Image from a Cistercian Manuscript, Twelfth Century 
3. Image from a French Calendar, Fifteenth Century 
4. Image of a Chinese Feng-Shui Master  
*5. Image of European Surveying Instruments 
6. Lynda Norene Shaffer, Southernization 
7. Jared Diamond, Easter Island’s End  

 

* new to this edition